Riding on the Back of a Motorbike

Mom, Dad, and Brandon, as well as anyone else who, every once in a while, fears for young women traveling the world alone, please stop reading now.

I’m about to tell a story about taking a ride on the back of a stranger’s bike…

It was Sunday afternoon, and I was walking home from Aluva-town. Home is a good three or four kilometers from there, but the walk is really enjoyable and I was feeling the need for some exercise. I was crossing the big bridge when a young man (but older than me) on a bike pulled up beside me and offered me a lift. I stopped, smiled, and told him kindly that I really appreciated it but was actually wanting to get some exercise. And, besides, it’s dangerous for a young woman to get on the back of a stranger’s bike.

But he was insistent. It’s hot, he told me, and it would give him such pleasure to give me a ride on his bike. (Ok, I realize it sounds really sketchy to everyone in the U.S., but the fact of the matter is that it gives everyone in India “such pleasure” to befriend white people.) I continued to make my excuses, but, at two in the afternoon, it was really hot and a ride home sounded kind of nice. “Ok,” I said, as I climbed on. “Take me right to Chacko Homes.”

Which he did.

And when we got there, he said to me, “This is a very good day in my life.” I just smiled as I climbed off and said, “This is a very good day in my life too. I appreciate the ride.”

As he drove off, with my email address in hand, I just had to chuckle. It’s really amazing how you can make someone’s day here simply by being white. And if your whiteness can get you a free ride on the back of a bike, why not take it?

Mom, Dad, and Brandon, as well as anyone else who, every once in a while, fears for young women traveling the world alone, if you’ve read to this point, even though I told you not to, I just want you to know that that was a rhetorical question and is not to be answered – ever!